‘40s Remake of ‘Zorro’ Left a Mark

Of the many questions bedeviling cinema historians, this has to be one of the most compelling: Who swashbuckled better, Errol Flynn in “The Adventures of Robin Hood” or Tyrone Power in “The Mark of Zorro”?

A recent viewing of both left me straddling the issue. I’d like to side with pretty-boy Flynn, if only because “Robin Hood” is a classier movie, but even prettier-boy Power is a surprisingly able run-about in “Zorro.”

On the whole, they both dash and leap about the same, with Flynn maybe going higher, Power a little faster. Director Rouben Mamoulian helped in this regard, obviously speeding up a few helter-skelter scenes in “Zorro,” which screens Friday afternoon in a free program at the Cypress Senior Citizen Center.

Actually, neither Flynn nor Power could keep pace with the antics of Douglas Fairbanks, the hyper star of the original 1920 silent version of “The Mark of Zorro.” He all but created the genre with his huge grin and huger acrobatics. But both are the swashbuckling sons Fairbanks never had (derring-do does not readily come to mind with Douglas Fairbanks Jr.), and Power serves the legacy well in the 1940 remake.

It’s clear the later “Zorro” was capitalizing both on the memory of the first and the success of “Robin Hood,” which came out two years before. Like today, action heroes were cash cows then, and 20th Century Fox did nicely at the box office by decorating Power with mask, sword and mustache.

In fact, young boys were so taken by Zorro’s exploits that contemporary news reports quoted parents complaining of that trademark “Z” being carved in furniture, fences and you name it by sons and daughters wielding steak knives. A fad was on; it was a publicist’s prayer answered.

The 1940 picture is silly in a way that only an over-amped Hollywood can accomplish. The dialogue is corny and mostly laughable (set in pueblo Los Angeles, supposedly Latino characters sprinkle perfect English with phrases such as “Vamonos!” and “Santa Maria!” whenever things get rough), but Mamoulian rarely lets “Zorro” slow to less than a gallop. The love scenes between Power and Linda Darnell are mopey and boring, but they pass quickly enough.

Besides, the film is funny, in the same self-mocking way that “Robin Hood” is. Mamoulian lets you know you’re watching nonsense, but that doesn’t mean it has to be tedious nonsense.

He also has an appealing hero in Power, who shows unexpected comic ability in this, one of his first pictures. As Don Diego Vega, he’s called on to display two personalities. His Zorro is rightly dashing, athletic and noble, but his foppish Vega is where the joke lies. This hankie-sniffing, ever-sighing wimp is almost insufferably dainty, which makes for a goofy contrast.

Although this version may be the best (purists, though, tend to prefer Fairbanks’ original), it wasn’t close to the last. There have been several remakes both for TV and the theaters, including “Zorro, the Gay Blade,” which introduced Zorro’s homosexual twin brother, Bunny, to stunned fans in 1981. That couldn’t top what happened in 1972, though, when “The Erotic Adventures of Zorro” hit the porno circuit.

Santa Maria!

What: Rouben Mamoulian’s “The Mark of Zorro.”

When: Friday, April 22, at 12:45 p.m.

Where: The Cypress Senior Citizen Center, 9031 Grindlay St., Cypress.

Whereabouts: Take the San Gabriel River (605) Freeway to Lincoln Avenue and head east to Grindlay, then turn right.

Wherewithal: Free.

Where to call: (714) 229-6776.